Updated information and screen shots of this page created by Matthew Murray.
Searching SciFinder
Natural Language Search
The first method for searching SciFinder-n is to use natural language searches.
For example, suppose you want information on how gold nanoparticles are used in MRIs. You could search the following:
Using gold nanoparticles in magnetic resonance imaging
The search engine will then run a search based on an algorithm and categorize them as Best, Good, and Fair. Best and Good results are displayed by default when you conduct the search; Fair results will require you to "Load More Results."
The system may find similar words to the ones you used to try and match concepts- you can see this through the highlighted portions of returned results. Note how "magnetization" is a term that is highlighted, despite us not directly searching for such a term.
Important note: If the algorithm does not find suitable results, the algorithm may instead use a boolean "OR" to try and find applicable results according to your query. For precise searches, it is advisable to do your own boolean searching, detailed below.
Boolean Search
Boolean searching can allow for more precision than natural language. There are three terms you may use:
x AND y - Include x and y in the search.
x OR y - Include x or y in the search.
Note: The Boolean OR function is nonexclusive. If x and y both show up in an article, it will still be included.
NOT x - Do not include x in the search.
SciFinder-n follows an order of operations that prioritizes OR, then AND, then NOT. For instance, consider the following query:
valproic acid AND pharmaceuticals OR therapy NOT epilepsy
This would be interpreted by SciFinder-n in the following manner:
( valproic acid AND ( pharmaceuticals OR therapy ) ) NOT epilepsy
Note the following results:
You may still wish to get more precise with your results even after adjusting your search query. For information on that topic, please see Refining References.
Important note: Boolean operations like AND, NOT, or OR only work in the main search field of SciFinder-n. They do not work in the fielded searches! (See below)
